Motorola Droid X: Thoroughly Reviewed
by Brian Klug on July 20, 2010 4:27 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Motorola Droid X
- OMAP
- Mobile
Connectivity
The X supports CDMA 800/1900 and Ev-DO Revision A for data. There’s also Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and WiFi 802.11g/n. I did notice N working at 72 megabits/s which seems to be the standard negotiated N connection speed for smartphones lately.
I’m somewhat of a speedtest freak, and I’ve run just shy of 100 speedtests on the X over cellular data. My average downstream speed has come to 0.91 megabits/s, upload is 0.73 megabits/s. This is completely on par with what I’d expect from CDMA 200 Ev-DO Rev.A networks. Though it isn’t anything special, I give the X credit for performing up to par, especially considering the number of... erm... devices that are shipping with some variety of radio problem.
Unfortunately, I did experience a lot of disconnections when connecting to N wireless networks. Searching online, a lot of people seem to be experiencing the same issue. Initially this posed a big problem for our WiFi page loading battery life benchmark, as I had to keep checking every 10 minutes to see if the phone was still connected. Later, I tried connecting to my WRT54G-TM running tomato (802.11g) and completed the test with a solid connection.
Later, I ran my WiFi throughput tests and noticed that the connection would drop on 802.11n whenever throughput started to go very fast, as it approached real N rates on my network. I switched back and forth between a WRT600N and latest generation Airport Extreme - both elicited the same behavior. The connection would drop, and sometimes not resume until I manually turned WiFi off and back on. This is very similar to some of the connectivity issues I’ve experienced with immature 802.11n stacks on the desktop, or due to chipset incompatibilities. Connecting to 802.11g, I was able to hold a solid connection without trouble.
Clearly the problem seems to be with the WiFi stack when connected to 802.11n networks. Hopefully this will be corrected in the future with some software update. There were rumors that this would be fixed with the July 19th update to 1.13.604 - it seems that review units were pushed this update a week early, as I saw it a while ago. WiFi still drops and reconnects periodically even running this version of the software and baseband.
Throughput on the X while downloading a 100 MB PDF stored locally was 16.8 megabits/s.
I also noticed that the X has longer wireless range than the EVO. I’ve been asked in the past to test wireless range - the X, Nexus One, and iPhone 4 I had on hand all kept stable WiFi connections to roughly the same distance.
Cellular Antennas
There’s also been a bit of discussion lately about the X’s diversity antenna configuration. If nothing else, the iPhone 4 antenna controversy has drawn attention to the fact that attenuation due to the composition of your hand happens on all devices.
Getting signal strength in dBm on Android is as easy as about -> status. Or a documented dialer code.
So how does the X fare? I saw a worst case drop of 15 dB on the X, cupping it tightly death grip style. I had an original Droid side by side and saw the same signal (-89 dBm at my house), so reception without holding the phone is unscientifically the same. The X drops signal about the same amount of signal due to attenuation from your hand being in the way as every other smartphone with an internal antenna. 15 dB is completely typical.
| Signal Attenuation Comparison in dB - Lower is Better | |||||||
| Cupping Tightly | Holding Naturally | On an Open Palm | Holding Naturally Inside Case | ||||
| Droid X | 15.0 | 5.1 | 4.5 | NA | |||
| iPhone 4 | 24.6 | 19.8 | 9.2 | 7.2 | |||
| iPhone 3GS | 14.3 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 3.2 | |||
| HTC Nexus One | 17.7 | 10.7 | 6.7 | 7.7 | |||
I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with the X’s spatially diverse antennas - I could make signal drop when holding the bottom of the phone, which is standard placement area for smartphone antennas these days, yet no drop happened when I cupped the top half tightly. I’m not saying definitively that there isn’t spatial diversity for the cellular antenna, just that I could never see evidence of it in the numbers. Perhaps Motorola is doing something much more subtle, or the value being reported in Field Trial is only for the bottom antenna - it’s entirely possible that the reporting I saw in the Field Trial and About -> Status doesn't reflect what the baseband is seeing.
I noticed something else curious and briefly made mention of it before. On the back of the phone under the battery door, there’s a gold contact that makes contact with the battery door. There are also three metal connectors that make contact with the tabs that lock the door in place.
Is the X pulling an iPhone 4 with creative antenna design? It seems possible, though I’m not sure what it’s being used for. WiFi signal strength is the same with the battery door on and off, as is cellular, and GPS. It also isn’t being used to tell if the door is on or not, as the device works the same with it on or off. Perhaps this is just for grounding.
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PCR - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I really enjoyed this review and wanted to let you know what a great job you guys did. It is very through and informative. Keep up the great work :)Pedro80 - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Guys..come on..- visually.. the EVO looks way better
- HW - the Samsung Galaxy S performs better
- HW - the Samsung Galaxy S features a much better display
- and (most importantly IMHO) a device that bricks (shits?) itself when you attempt to install a different version of the (the same! open!) operating system
..isn't worthy this kind of acknowledgement..
Already, devs in the Android community are asking Motorola to leave the OHA (Open Handset Alliance).
[Droid X Brick a Brac]
http://www.wirelessandmobilenews.com/2010/07/droid...
[Motorola responds to Droid X bootloader controversy]
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/16/motorola-respon...
[Why Motorola should be asked to leave the Open Handset Alliance]
http://www.absolutelyandroid.com/why-motorola-shou...
leexgx - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
at the moment it just prevents you from using your own cooked firmwares (puts the device into recovery mode so it can be re-flashed with factory image)must admit my sisters samsung galaxy s does look nice (compared to the HTC desire or Sony X10 xperan {big one} ) And it comes with an 1500Mha bat so should last more then an day use (the G1 i had was horrid on bat life had to turn it into an brick and fit an 2200Mha bat to it)
Very disappointed with the screen on the HTC desire (one its smaller then my HTC HD1 my bad lol,) the screen is Not made of Strate line of pixels like normal screens are so an Striate line or Single dot text is wiggly
v12v12 - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
Thank you man... FINALLY some voice of true dissent! While the rest of the zombies on here clap and rave; the REAL issues come out in your post. Course as most zombies behave, they either flat out ignore it (Jobs/Apple/big-corp mantra). It seems like people in today's society are more and more becoming fanboyed about anything "new." Their supposed reasoning and logic (lack thereof) skills are deteriorating generation after generation._The more "entertainment" devices these nefarious companies produce, the more you all open up their mouths and ask for another spoonful. Not ONE mention of how these devices are actively spying and reporting your Internet usage, phone calls/txts/tweets/facebook blah blah. Everyone just happily uses them with out even asking... HRMM this device pretty much is my personal log/journal (txts, calls, tweets, surfing etc.) and the phone corps CAN and DO turn over ALL of your info to the NSA/CIA "secret" rooms (AT&T anyone?)
SURPRISE! http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2007/06/spy...
Merry Xmas! http://news.cnet.com/AT38T-sued-over-NSA-spy-progr...
Gotta LOVE them spIphones: http://www.squidoo.com/iphonespy
Iphone owns drones! http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/080210-your-...
SpyPhone: http://www.spyphoneguy.com/
*** Do you actually THINK that the NSA/CIA/Govt doesn’t have their OWN in-house versions of this type of spyware that CAN be remotely installed on your phone w/o your consent???*** You’re a complete FOOL if you don’t think they don’t ALREADY have this type of stuff and are using it to track the MAFIA
http://www.zdnet.com/news/fbi-taps-cell-phone-mic-...
http://www.technewsdaily.com/hacked-smartphones-co...
Yet you all happily browse away, not knowing for SURE that "someone" or some group isn't recording your EVERY form of personal/private communication with these uber "smart" devices. Yep, no CCleaner or data-encryption/wipe when BIG-BROTHER is siphoning the data off at the SOURCE. HAHA I love it... everyone is so caught up being "entertained," and 1-up'ing everyone else with their newer toys; all the while someone else IS watching and tracking your most PRIVATE (so you thought) behaviors.... Course no mention from Anand (nothing personal boss) or any of the other review/tech sites about it either. Lol... Jokes on YOU all... Soon some of you will be BUSTED/RATTED out by your PHONE in the near future. All those supposed "private" txts and crap will come out in full public view, when they have your ass in court for some talk about picking up a "sack, dub, nuggets, green, trees" and anything else considered "illegal" at the time or arbitrarily deemed an "act of terrorism," which NOW puts you under the guise of the PATRIOT-ACT, which essentially STRIPS you of nearly all your rights afforded to you by the Bill-of-Rights and that has-been document call the CONSTITUTION of the UNITED STATES.
Yep, this IS going to be yours/mine and everyone else's future if people don't start inquiring about the SECURITY of these devices, aside from whining about being about to NOT crack the eFuse etc.
You've been warned; now back to being "entertained," (aka, distracted/deceived).
puffpio - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I'm curious (and I hope you and others are too!) about how an overclocked Droid fares against a Droid X?Many rooted/custom ROM Droid people have no problem taking their phones up to 1Ghz
1Ghz OMAP 3630 vs 1GHz OMAP 3430 would be an awesome comparo
Goty - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Good to know. I ran most of the same benchmarks on my own and it seems that the Captivate is actually slower in the Sunspider test than any of the newer TI or Qualcomm SoCs, but faster in everything else. Very curious.Anyhow, looking forward to the review(s)!
metafor - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Sunspider is kinda wonky. It can vary depending on what version of the browser you're using. In either case, unless you know you have the exact same software, it's usually not a good way to test processor speed.cgalyon - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
This was the best review I've seen of the Droid X thus far, by a large margin! Very thorough and pleasantly objective. Keep up the great work!FozzyofAus - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Great to hear.The Galaxy S has been on sale in here in Australia for a while and I'd love to see how it compares to the HTC EVO and Droid X.
Regards,
Michael.
FozzyofAus - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Background reading on performance from another site:http://androidandme.com/2010/07/news/droid-x-vs-ga...
No doubt your review will be even better when it's ready.
Regards,
Michael.